‘American Gods’ Season 2 Officially Recasting Gillian Anderson

Out with the old, in with the New. No one was surprised American Gods underwent additional shakeups in the wake of Bryan Fuller’s exit, but how does one replace Gillian Anderson? Season 2 reportedly has a meta plan in place for a new Media.

Where previously Anderson confirmed she wouldn’t return to her shape-shifting role as the goddess Media, Season 2 is casting her replacement with a clever twist. According to TVLine, Media will shift into the aptly-named role of “New Media,” played by an as-yet-uncast 20-something Asian actress. The character reportedly “symbolizes the role of social media in modern American life the same way that Gillian Anderson’s Media represented television and pop culture in Season 1.”

Anderson’s casting was originally a highlight of the long-gestating Starz adaptation, as the character of Media allowed the X-Files star to impersonate such iconic figures as Lucille Ball, David Bowie, Marilyn Monroe and Judy Garland. Anderson’s exit was followed by the likewise departure ofKristin Chenoweth as Easter, given the Pushing Daisies alum has since been cast in Season 2 of NBC’s Trial & Error.

American Gods Season 2 previously set Star Trek: Discovery alum Jesse Alexander to showrun Season 2, sharing duties with author Neil Gaiman. The American Gods creator was reportedly “unhappy with the direction Fuller and Green planned to take season two as their vision was not a straight adaptation of his source material,” and – as a result – the first six written scripts were tossed. Alexander’s Season 2 vision was also said to “ignore” the prior finale’s cliffhanger, which could explain Chenoweth’s absence as Easter.

Production on Season 2 will reportedly begin in May, but American Gods may not return until 2019 at the earliest.